Members of Congress concerned about Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke’s use of taxpayers’ money for travel received a dressing down from him Tuesday.

At one point during a hearing, Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., asked Zinke about spending $12,375 to charter a private jet for a flight from Las Vegas to his home in Montana.

“I resent the fact of your insults. I resent the fact they’re misleading … To allege that it’s a private jet is inappropriate, ma’am,” Zinke responded.

All three flights he took on chartered private planes while secretary were on propeller-drive craft, not jets, he explained.

Oh, well, it’s all right, then. No harm done as long as taxpayers’ money was used to pay for prop planes, not jets.

Pardon our sarcasm, please.

Zinke has one valid point: He is not alone in misusing taxpayers’ money. It happens with regularity in both Democrat and Republican administrations.

But that does not make it right. It would not be appropriate if Zinke had taken a World War I surplus biplane.